In a wide variety of electrical applications, large numbers of wires or cables are often used to interconnect various components. When working in such an environment where it is necessary to connect and disconnect more than one wire at a time, confusion as to the proper arrangement of the wires may result, as they are often similar in appearance. It has been long known to mark the wires to be disconnected so that the wires will be identified for subsequent reconnection. A common device for marking the wire is to employ marking tapes having a first face upon which one or more series of indicia may be placed and a second face having a coating of a pressure-sensitive adhesive. Such marker tapes may be dispensed in selectable lengths in accordance with the size of the cables or wires to be marked. Due to the large number of cables or wires usually found in a system, a dispenser capable of dispensing a large variety of indicia-bearing tape is required.
One such device is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,502,252 and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. This marking tape dispenser includes a housing constructed of individual dispensing modules, each of which contains a single roll of marking tape. Each of the marking tapes would preferably bare different indicia. This tape dispenser also includes a cutting blade for cutting off selected lengths of tape from the roll and an adjacent platform for retaining the tape end for subsequent use.
It has been found that with multiple roll tape dispensers, as well as in single roll dispensers, the tape end has a tendency to dislodge from the retaining platform and turn back onto the tape roll. This may be due to the curvature of the tape roll itself or the tape roll may be inadvertently rotated in the wrong direction, bringing the tape end back into the roll. Such inadvertent movement may be especially evident in the crowded environment in which an electrician must usually work. It is both time-consuming and inefficient for the electrician to stop work and search for the end of the tape roll between uses should the tape curl back onto itself.
One attempt at eliminating the roll back problem is found in a wire marker dispenser sold by 3M under the trademark "SCOTCH CODE". This device provides a housing cover which, upon closing, engages the adhesive surface of the tape, securing the tape between the cover end and the housing. Upon opening the cover, the tape end is released and a free end is provided. While this dispenser securely retains the tape end when the cover is in the closed position, it fails to prevent rollback when the cover is open. Further, this dispenser cannot operate with the cover closed as no portion of tape is accessible outside the closed cover.
The dispenser art has further seen partially or totally enclosed tape dispensers which provide an extending edge of tape exteriorly of the dispenser through an opening, such as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 757,844, 2,447,145 and 4,252,258. However, these dispensers do not easily provide accessible exit for the tape in the dispenser as normally the tape must be "fed" or "threaded" through the narrow opening. As with the previously mentioned dispensers, this procedure is also time-consuming and inefficient.